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Attorneys for Alton Sterling family demand firing of two Baton Rouge officers

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Updated: 7:04 PM EDT May 24, 2017

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Family members of Alton Sterling and their attorneys speak after meeting with the U.S. Justice Department outside federal court in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The Justice Department has decided not to charge two white Baton Rouge police officers in the shooting death of Sterling. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

SOURCE: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Attorneys for Alton Sterling family demand firing of two Baton Rouge officers

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Updated: 7:04 PM EDT May 24, 2017

BATON ROUGE, La. —

Attorneys for Alton Sterling's relatives are demanding Baton Rouge officials fire the two police officers involved in the shooting death of the 37-year-old last year.

The letter demands the immediate firing of Baton Rouge officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, the two officers identified in Sterling's deadly shooting outside a convenience store on July 5, 2016.

Family members are asking that the officers be fired because Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry's investigation is not to determine whether they should stay on the force.

The state's investigation and the letter Wednesday comes after the U.S. Department of Justice announced this month that it would not pursue civil rights charges against the officers as part of a federal investigation.

U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson said that the investigation into Sterling's death couldn't prove that the officers acted unreasonably and willfully.

Family attorneys said the officers should be fired because of their violation of the Baton Rouge Police Department's policy on deescalation. The letter describes information provided by the DOJ that Salamoni put a gun to Sterling's head and told him that he would shoot him in the head.

Attorneys are also requesting documents from the Police Department regarding the disciplining of Salamoni and Lake. Salamoni, a four-year veteran of the Police Department, and Howie Lake II, a three-year veteran of the Police Department, were placed on administrative leave after the shooting.

Landry said his office will begin a state investigation into Sterling's shooting. He said the state's investigation was stalled until the federal investigation was completed.